Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Treatment

Unlike lasers, an IPL device sends out more than one wavelength of pulsating light. It can treat a range of skin conditions at the same time. After IPL, you may look younger because your skin tone is more even. While laser therapy uses a set wavelength depending on the procedure, intense pulsed light therapy uses multiple different wavelengths of light released in pulses. You can think of it as a strobe light passing along the skin. IPL isn’t a focused beam like a laser. It instead is dispersed beams of light that work together. As the light penetrates down to the second layer of skin, it allows the cells to absorb its energy, heat up, and eventually destroy the pigmentation within the cell. This is how age spots, other discoloring blemishes, moles, birthmarks, and rosacea are diminished.

IPL works on the same principles as laser in that light energy is absorbed by targeted cells (chromophores) with color in the skin. The light energy is converted to heat energy, which causes damage to the specific target area. IPL systems are different from lasers in that they deliver many wavelengths (or colors) in each pulse of light instead of just one wavelength. This technology uses filters to refine the energy output for the treatment of certain areas. This enhances penetration without using excessive energy levels and enables the targeting of specific chromophores (skin components that absorb light). The light heats cells in the skin and breaks them down. The body then removes the damaged tissue naturally.